Article clip



C. C. HARRIS ARTICLE CLIP Filed June 22, 1955 INVBNTOR ATTORNEYS May 7 1957 ARTICLE CLIP Carl C. Harris, Orange, Mass.

Application June 22, 1955, Serial No. 517,209

' 7 Claims. CI. 24-11) This invention relates'to improvements in article clamping clips and more particularly relates to a novel clamping 'clip of simple and economical construction which is adapted to be applied to various uses.

Conventional article clamps, as applied to pencils and pens for instance, comprise a tongue of resilient material which is fixedly secured at one end to the article and which extends lengthwiseof the article to terminate at its free end in a rounded or ball shaped tip which is held in yield able engagement with the article so as to clamp the article upon a suitable support inserted between the article and the tongue.

In assignees Patent No. 2,414,810 there is disclosed a novel wireclip designed to provide a triangular three point engagement, with the support for the article so as to prevent lateral orpendulum swinging of the article on the support. i g 1 While this clip has achieved a marked degree of com mercial success, there is some tendency for the exposed wire of the clip to become entangled with other small objects, such as shirt buttons, paper clips and the like, in many instances bending theclip out of shape and impairing to a greater or lesser extent the desirable three point engagement-with the support.

I have now found that it is possible to provideia clip utilizing a three point suspension of the same generaltype as disclosed in the aforementioned patent, while at the same time eliminating the foregoing difiiculties. In order to accomplish this I have found that it is desirable to manufacture theclip asa two piece assembly utilizinga tongue which substantially" encloses and shields a" large portion of the wire element while atjthe same time'perconceals a substantial portion of the wire.

It is another object of the invention to provide an article clamping clip consisting of a resilient wire element and aunitary tongue wherein'the wire element 'is' under fiexuraland torsional stress to bias the tongue into contact with the support. a

Patented May 7, 1957 Referring more particularly to the figures of the drawings there is shown an article clamping clip 10 applied to a flat pencil 12. The clip 10 comprises a stiff resilient wire bent centrally of its length to provide a narrow loop 14 whichis further bent at 16 to provide a two point base portion 17 engaging the surface of the article 12. The resilient wire extends upwardly of the loop 14 and base portion 17 in the form of substantially parallel limbs 18 and '20 which are bent outwardly to form axis arms 22 and 2.4. From the ends of the axis arms the wire is bent downwardly as shown in Figure 2 to form a bell crank portion 26 terminating in flexure arms 28 and 30. Arms 28 and 30 are turned inwardly at 32 and 34 to form pivot members which enter apertures in the sides of pencil 12.

An elongated tongue 36, preferably of metal having arcuate cross section, is provided at its upper portion with a pair of downwardly extending flanges 42 and 44 which are fastened to limbs 18 and 20.by means of a pair 'of inturned lips 38 and 40. The lower or free end of the tongue is provided with a ball shaped tip 46 formed from the metal of the tongue. The flanges 42 and 44 are provided with semi-circular recesses at 47 and 48 to receive the axis arms 22 and 24 of the resilient wire and the flanges and top of the tongue may be off-set as shown at 50 in Figure 2 for a reason presently to become apparent. The lips 38 and. 40 tightly engage limbs 18 and 20 to hold axis arms '22 and '24 in firm engagement with recesses 46 and 48 and to hold the end of loop 14 firmly in engagement with theunderside of the tongue 36. 4 1

9 At the point where the limbs 18 and 20 emerge from beneath the lower ends of lips 38 and 46 they are bent downwardly and outwardly as shown in Figures 2 and 3 to form the two point base portion for bearing against a support inserted between the article and the clip. The flexure arms 28 and 30 possess a natural upward set as shown byrthe dotted line 52 in Figure 2 so that when the arms are snapped into position on the pencil, as shown by the solid lines in Figure 2, the bell crank 26 biases the tongue 36 into engagement with the surface of the pencil at the three points comprised by the ball 46 and the two base portions 17.

i If a thick material is inserted between the tongue and the surface of the article the axis arms are stressed in torsion while the fiexure arms 28 and 30 simultaneously flex and pivot about their pivots 32 and 34 to allow the base 17 to move away from the article so that the material is clamped between the two point base 17 and the ball 46. When a material is inserted only part Way beneath the tongue 36 ,the tongue pivots about axis arms 22 and 24 and ajs'trong tension is applied to the. tongue both by means 'of torsion of the axis arms and flexure of arms 28 and 30. I

[This dual'to'rsional and flexural biasing action provides avhighlyv satisfactory clamping action and practically eliminates fatigue breakage of the clip. The tongue 36 covers and encloses practically all of the resilient wire which lies I on the surface of the article thereby preventing snagging Further objects and advantages of the invention will I become apparent upon reference to the following specification, claims and drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the clip of this invention attached to an article to be supported;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the clip of Figure l mounted upon the article;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the clip of Figures 1 and 2 demounted; and

Figure 4 is a vertical cross section of the clip of Figure 3 taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 3.

or other accidental bending of the wire and also providing the unit with a pleasing appearance. Q :Another important advantage of the present invention is that the tongue 36 may be made of suitable metal to talie permanent shape and permanent gold finish. This is not possible with conventional clips in which it is necessary to use a tempered steel underpiece and a gold finished cover. In the clip of the present invention, the wire 14 provides a permanent anchorage for the tongue 36 and the wire retains its resilience due to the fulcrum location.

While the invention is illustrated herein as being applied to pencils it will be obvious that the clip may be made of various sizes and applied to various types of articles of metal, wood, plastic materials, or the like. The

three point engagement of the clip provides a sturdy clamping action while the two piece assembly of resilient wire and unitiary tongue eliminates the ditficulties previously encountered with wire type clips.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, a resilient member having a loop in engagement with said tongue intermediate said free end and said fulcrum end, said loop having intermediate base portions extending away from said tongue for contact with the face of an article, a pair of substantially parallel limbs extending from said base portions in a direction away from the free end of said tongue, means adjacent said fulcrum end engaging said limbs and fastening said tongue to said resilient member and a pair of arms connected to said limbs andextending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate the length of the tongue to engage the article. i

2. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, a resilient member having a loop in engagement with said tongue intermediate said free end and said fulcrum end, said loop having intermediate base portions extending away from said tongue for contact with the face of an article, a pair of substantially parallel limbs extending from said base portions in a direction away from the free end of said tongue, means adjacent said fulcrum end engaging said limbs and fastening said tongue to said resilient member, axis mem bers extending outwardly substantially normal to said limbs, and a pair of arms connected to said limbs and extending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate the length of the tongue to engage the article.

3. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, a resilient member having a loop in engagement with said tongue intermediate said free end and said fulcrum end, said loop having intermediate base portions extending away from said tongue for contact with the face of an article, a pair of substantially parallel limbs extending from said base portions in a direction away from the free end of said tongue,

means adjacent said fulcrum end engaging said limbs and fastening said tongue to said resilient member, axis members extending outwardly substantially normal to said limbs, and a pair of arms connected to said axis members through hell crank portions and extending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate the length of the tongue to engage the article.

4. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, a resilient member having a loop in engagement with said tongue intermediate said free end and said fulcrum end, said loop having intermediate base portions extending away from said tongue for contact with the face of an article, a pair of substantially parallel limbs extending from said base portions in a direction away from the free end of said tongue, means adjacent said fulcrum end engaging said limbs and fastening said tongue to said resilient member, axis members extending outwardly substantially normal to said limbs, and a pair of arms connected to said axis members through bell crank portions and extending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate the length of the tongue to pivotally engage the article.

5. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, a resilient member having a loop in engagement with said tongue intermediate said free end and said fulcrum end, said loop having intermediate base portions extending away from said tongue for contact with the face of an article, a pair of substantially parallel limbs extending from said base portions in a direction away from the free end of said tongue, 21 pair of parallel flanges adjacent said fulcrum endhav ing inturned lips engaging said limbs and fastening said tongue to said resilient member, axis members extending outwardly substantially normal to said limbs, and a pair of arms connected to said axis members through hell crank portions and extending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate, the length of the tongue to pivota-lly engage the article.

6. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, and a resilient member attached, to said tongue adjacent the fulcrum end thereof and having axis portions extending substantially normal to said tongue and arms attached to said axis portion and extending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate the length of the tongue to engage the article, whereby said axis por-,

tions may be stressed torsionally and said arms flexurally upon bodily movement of said tongue away from said article, said resilient members having base portions extending in a direction away from the position where said resilient member is attached to said tongue toward the free end of said tongue.

7. An article clamping clip comprising a tongue having a free end and a fulcrum end, and a resilient member attached to said tongue adjacent the fulcrum end and having axis portions extending laterally from said tongue and having arms attached to said axis portion and extending in the direction of the free end of said tongue with anchoring means at their ends intermediate the length of the tongue to engage the article whereby said axis portions may be stressed torsionally and said arms fiexurally upon bodily movement of saidtongue away from said article, said resilient member having base portions extending in a direction away from the position where said resilient member is attached to said tongue toward the free end of said tongue.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 863,029 Holland Aug. 13, 1907 1,033,693 Hart July 23, 1912 -2,279,803 Visitation Apr. 14, 1942 2,414,810 Harris Jan. 28, 1947 2,538,294 Claret Jan. 16, i. 

